Show for Trump is over: 30-hour "truce" exposes fragility of peace. Serhiy Zgurets’ column

30-hour 'ceasefire'

Let’s first talk about the ceasefire—or rather its imitation—which lasted 30 hours. During this time, we saw how Russia acts and how it would have acted if the truce had lasted longer. In areas where it was advantageous, Russian forces observed the terms of the truce but used it to regroup forces, evacuate the wounded and dead. Demining was also carried out in areas where assault actions were later planned.

In these directions, there was indeed a decrease in the number of combat clashes, including a reduction in the intensity of artillery shelling and infantry assaults. But in other areas, on the contrary, the Russian army carried out offensive actions while simultaneously accusing the Ukrainian side of violating the truce. The ceasefire was more of a propaganda move by Russia. The Ukrainian side was forced to respond after the fact—within the rules, both in terms of time and actions, that were imposed on it. Kyiv either did not want to refuse or could not—primarily to avoid giving Russian propaganda and Trump’s negotiating team additional leverage.

According to spokespersons from various directions, Ukrainian fighters acted in a mirrored way: if Russian troops used artillery, they responded with artillery; if there were drone and infantry attacks, they used available means to stop the Russian advance.

Based on the report from Ukraine's General Staff and data from General Syrskyi, President Zelenskyy stated that during Easter, the Russian army opened fire almost 3,000 times—despite promises not to shoot. Statistically, 96 combat clashes were recorded—about half as many as usual. Russia's losses also decreased, with less than a thousand Russian soldiers eliminated.

The largest number of attacks occurred in the Pokrovsk and Toretsk directions, the Kursk region, and the Kramatorsk sector. At the same time, Russia really did not use aviation with guided bombs and Shaheds, but did use artillery, drones, and carried out assault attacks. For example, Uspenivka in the Pokrovsk direction was shelled with artillery, where the intensity of fighting did not decrease at all. There was also recorded movement of Russian forces and the involvement of additional troops.

Regarding the Pokrovsk direction: on April 20, a video appeared from the commander of Ukraine's Birds of Magyar Brigade, Robert Brovdi, in which he showed how Russian equipment moved, how assaults were carried out, and what Ukrainian soldiers did to protect their interests in the air.

Overall, these 30 hours showed the fragility of the concept of a ceasefire without clearly defined time and geographic boundaries, as well as without the establishment of control conditions and mechanisms for recording violations. Of course, none of this was present, as it was primarily a propaganda gesture from Russia. Already on Monday, April 21, the aggressor’s Ministry of Defense announced that Russian troops were continuing combat operations in Ukraine after the end of the so-called Easter truce. The show for Trump was over, and after midnight, Russia again began using Shaheds and guided bombs. An Oniks anti-ship missile was launched from Crimea, and on the fronts, Russian reserves or forces brought to the front line during the partial ceasefire went on the offensive.

Siversk direction

Next, about the situation in one of the directions where the Ukrainian National Guard’s 4th Brigade Rubizh is holding the defense.

The planning officer with the Rubizh Brigade, Major Dmytro Kozhubenko, said that in the Siversk area, where the brigade's positions are located, Russian forces did not observe the truce even once. They continued shelling, conducted reconnaissance of positions using unmanned aerial vehicles, and carried out local assaults. In small groups, they tried to break through and seize Ukrainian positions. The brigade has many experienced officers, including those who have been fighting since 2014. They understand very well that the Russian "truce" is just a tactical pause, so they had no illusions. The infantry, artillerymen, and FPV drone operators of the Rubizh Brigade repelled all enemy attacks, and not a single position was lost.

Ukraine Russia war live map, April 12-19, Photo: Espreso

Major Kozhubenko noted that Russian soldiers had already been using motorcycles last year, so this is nothing new. Currently, there is a trend toward an increase in the number of motorcycle units. There are many videos showing Russian soldiers training at ranges: learning to overcome obstacles, including anti-tank barriers or other artificial fortifications created by Ukrainian defenders. This indicates that Russia is preparing and building up forces for further assault operations by small mobile groups.

The National Guardsman pointed out that there is currently a shortage of motivated people on the front line, even though there are enough resources—there are enough FPV drones. New FPV operators are working, but there is a lack of pilots. Strangely enough, there is a shortage of experienced pilots who can effectively fly drones and destroy the enemy. Theoretically, anyone can take a drone controller and try to fly, but FPV drones have a rather complex control system, so not everyone can fly and guide the drone to the target. Therefore, motivated people who want to learn and work in the Rubizh brigade are needed.

The officer explained that protection with nets against drones works and has proven itself very well. Everyone has already seen the videos posted online by Russian soldiers, where in the Bakhmut and Toretsk areas they make tunnels protected by fishing nets. Such nets prevent drones from reaching their targets. Therefore, any means that prevent a drone from flying in work. One should not neglect anything, nor should one laugh at the enemy when they do such things, because Ukrainian fighters sometimes borrow such ideas from them.

The serviceman added that the Rubizh Brigade is now part of the Khartiya corps, so there will be a unified command. There is hope that the Rubizh Brigade will finally stand in the defense line alongside its National Guard comrades, and tasks will be carried out under a single overall command. Accordingly, logistics will also be unified, which means improved provision of both information and material-technical resources.

Kozhubenko said that all trends point to increased enemy activity. It is known that Russia is building up forces and will continue to carry out assault operations. Given that the invading Russian troops have had some successes in the northeast of Lyman, they will only move forward. Ukrainian defenders are preparing, repelling enemy assaults every day.

Foreign media on Ukraine's Defense Industry

And finally, in our section, we will show a video published by foreign mass media. This is an extremely interesting video about the work of the Ukrainian SkyFall laboratory. In fact, this enterprise manufactures Vampire drones, known as Baba Yaga, and provides the technological processes and impressive production rates for these FPV drones. The pace of production is remarkable.

In the report, the host said that every day, 4,000 FPV drones leave this enterprise, which means 120,000 drones per month. As for Baba Yaga type drones or bombers used to destroy the enemy, the numbers are up to about 1,000 units per month.

The enterprise has established technological segments for checking all samples. For the production of drones and components, 3D printers are used—about 350 of them at the enterprise. This is a rather powerful private company that increases its scale year by year.

By the way, this company has already been featured by foreign TV channels before. I remember that last year, the EU diplomatic representative Josep Borrell also visited this enterprise, where he was shown the production process and the technological approaches to scaling up production.

Let me remind you that this is not the only enterprise, and such production rates make it possible to increase the number of FPV drones and bombers, but the issue is funding. When such stories appear on European or American television, they encourage Western politicians to make decisions and direct funds to Ukrainian defense enterprises.

It is extremely positive that such stories are appearing. This will be another impetus for our European partners to change the formats of financial cooperation with Ukraine and expand the ways European funds can be used for our defense production.